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With the wet weather and floods over the
winter holiday some competitors were concerned
that the Exeter would run.

Come the day there were few weather
related problems although a wet and stormy night made things unpleasant
for motorcyclists and those in open cars. As it
happened some of the sections were easier than usual as all the rain
washed away the mud covering the rocks.

The spectators are dressed for the wet weather
as they watch the marshals direct Tim Dutton as he reverses after failing
Simms (Picture by Peter Mallon)

The water is running down Tillerton as Dudley Sterry approaches the
restart. (Picture
from http://crashboxclub.co.uk/)

As a later number
Rex Ward had
to contend with mud from the approach track being dragged up Simms by
(Picture by Peter Mallon)

Jane Hicks TR7 looks as if has been in the wars as the marshals come
to help after failing Simms (Picture by
Peter Mallon)

It was dry as the first
competitors left Haynes after completing the firstObserved Test.
Although the test itself was popular the queue for the preceding time
control was chaotic. Many had problems getting to the line on time as
their way was blocked by those that had got there early. Bill Moffatt
didn't get that far as his Troll developed engine problems at
scruitineering.

Problems getting to the
first section

Classic Canes was the first
section, a new one to the trial. The section itself wasn't a big problem
but the muddy entrance track was. A queue back to the road soon built up
so competitors couldn't get to the start of the section. Quite a few
were penalised, as either missing or stopping, including a high
proportion of the Suzuki X90's in Class Five. Most of these received the
same penalty on the following section Underdown and it will be interesting
to discover if this was a coincidence.

Few failures in Bovey Woods

After the Musbury Control the
route crossed the Seaton Tramway and climbed Harepath Hill before turning
off the A3052 into Bovey Woods, where Normans Hump and Clinton awaited. It
was raining heavily by now. Perhaps the rain washed the mud away as these
familiar old sections didn't take their usual quota of scalps.

The woods caused problems for
some though. Kevin Lindsay's Marlin lost most of its B series power and
the crew decided not to continue. The experienced Phillip Mitchell (Skoda)
and Barry Clarke (Grotty Chummy) also retired here. Mark Endleycleaned both sections
at the expense of a holed sump and had to be towed
out of the woods by Julian Lack, 2013's only car triple winner.

Waterloo was just down the road
and although there was plenty of grip the old hill took a few prisoners,
particularly in Classes One and Five.

The Rain Eases Up for
Breakfast

The heavy rain started to ease
as the event approached its breakfast break via Stretes and Bulverton
Steep. Neither were a problem but the experienced Brian Alexander was
penalised for not stopping on the Bulverton restart.

Breakfast was at Crealey Park,
with a reasonable amount of room to spread out in the restaurant
and dry out.

Most
Clear Tillerton

Classes Seven and Eight had
their usual restart but even with this there were only a couple of fails
there was so much grip.

Fingle was next and it is
noticeable how rough this is becoming. Again there were only a couple of
failures and surprisingly one of those was Lester Keat in his normally
very effective Avenger. Derek Reynolds came to a halt in a dramatic way,
riding the bank in the process and very fortunate to keep the car on four
wheels.

Wooston had some Bite

Wooston had its usual handicap
system. 1 -7 turned sharp sharp left just before the steep gradient kicked
in. 6 & 7 had the challenge of a restart just before the turn. Class 8
didn't have to restart but they did have to tackle the full hill.

Any hill that stops Dean
Partington must be a tough one and he was joined by most of the Class
Eights who took on the steep gradient. It was possible though and Dave
Wall (Dellow), Nick Farmer (Fugitive), Dudley Sterry (MG J2) and David
Jackson (FPS) reached the summit. Lee Peck had to retire his Kracken here
when the MX5 diff mounting broke. However, Lee was pleased with the car up
till them and had started constructing a second car.

Although 1 -7 didn't tackle the
full hill the muddy left hand corner claimed many scalps and in Class 4
only Hans Viertel and Aaron Homewood were unpenalised.

Plenty of Grip on Simms

Considered the Exeters
signature hill, Simms was thronged as usual by enthusiastic spectators,
urging competitors to the top. Early numbers found there was a a lot of
grip, although this diminished as successive cars dragged mud from the
approach track onto the section.

With all the grip some cars
were really motoring and one spectator had the misfortune to break his
nose when it came in contact with a stone kicked up by James Shallcross's
Peugeot. This emphasised the need for the safety measure of the stop line
at the summit and several competitors were excluded for failing to obey
it.

There were a couple of notable
breakages. Mark Rosten-Edwards had the transmission fail on the Imp, handed
down by Dad, and new Lands End Clerk of the Course Bill Rosten. Adrian
Dommett had the propshaft fail on his Wolsley Hornet but no problems for
his twin Julian in his side valve Dellow.

It was interesting that apart
from Class One at least one car in every class made the summit and there
were a couple of very happy Suzuki X90 drivers at the finish.

Punctures on Tipley

Tipley was approached via a
holding control where Nick Farmer drafted his spill kit into action when
he found a cracked sump on his Fugitive's Vauxhall Red Top. Clean so far,
and with only two hills remaining, Nick drained the oil and used rapid
setting epoxy provided by Lee Sample/Simon Robson to stem the flow. This
was successful and Nick went on to Gold.

The repairs to Tipley may have
made the section smother but the sharp edges on the concrete took its toil
on tyres. Nigel Jones was one of this affected, using his second spare
wheel and was in real trouble when he got another puncture on Slippery
Sam.

Slippery Sam is another Exeter
Hill that is getting really rough. The restart for the higher classes was
the real problem though and Dudley Sterry was penalised for running back,
loosing his gold in the process.

Finish and Evening
Festivities

The only disappointment at the Trecarn was that the only two Triple Winners
in 2013were not presented with their awards during the
evening do. That was a shame as it
would have been nice to give them a well deserved round of applause.
However the function was well attended and gave competitors the chance to exchange
experiences. For motorcyclist and those in open cars the overriding memory
was getting very wet during the night. For others
it was Simms where the
conditions allowed many to make their first climb of the famous hill. If
indeed this is Tim Whellocks last Exeter as Clerk of the Course he went
out on a high.